Abu Dhabi’s National Infrastructure Construction Company (NICC), a subsidiary of Etihad Rail, is preparing to tender the second section of the phosphate railway line that will run from Ghor Al-Safi to Aqaba in Jordan. The tender is expected to be issued by mid-November.

NICC received technical and commercial bids in September for a contract to construct the first section of the line, as MEED reported.

The scope of work for the railway includes civil engineering, tunnel construction, and mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) works.

Bids were submitted on 22 September, according to MEED’s information.

In April, a French-Swiss joint venture of Egis and Arx was awarded the design consultancy contract for the project.

Etihad Rail announced in September last year that it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) worth $2.3bn with Jordan’s Transport Ministry and local companies to develop the phosphate railway line.

In an official statement, Etihad Rail said it had signed an agreement with Jordan to build, operate and maintain the project.

The statement added that additional MoUs were signed with Jordan Phosphate Mines Company and Arab Potash Company to transport 16 million tonnes a year of phosphate and potash from mining sites to the Port of Aqaba via the Jordanian railway network.

The MoUs also cover the manufacture and supply of rolling stock; the construction of terminals in Aqaba, Ghor Al-Safi and Shidiya; and the maintenance, repair and operation of the railway line.

Project history

In 2015, Jordan’s Transport Ministry tendered a contract to construct the Shidiya rail link, intended to transport 6 million tonnes a year of phosphate from mines in Shidiya to Wadi Al-Yutum, near Aqaba.

In November of that year, a joint venture of China Communications Construction Company and the local contractor Masar United was confirmed as the lowest bidder and was awaiting the formal award to build the 21-kilometre spur line.

The project was subsequently put on hold due to funding issues.